The Incredible Shrinking Snickers Bar

Get ready for a smaller Snickers bar. Candymaker Mars has told NPR's Salt blog that by the end of 2013, all of its chocolate bars will clock in at 250 or fewer calories. This means that the classic Snickers will be losing about 11 percent of its bulk (the equivalent of 30 calories), downsizing for the first time in its 80-plus-year history. Milky Ways, Mars bars, and 3 Muskateers will also cut a trimmer figure. Since 2004, Mars has also been quietly phasing out King-sized bars — which, if I'm being honest, have always seemed a bit excessive as a snack food — replacing them with "duo" packs of two smaller bars better for sharing (considerate!). Now the company is taking things a step further. It's all a part of Mars's effort to promote "responsible snacking," which sounds like something I once heard on Sesame Street. No word yet on whether prices will drop according to calorie shrinkage. All in all, though, sounds like kind of a bummer. But before we all start hurling insults in Mars's general direction, consider this: If the goal is to combat expanding waistlines, it's unquestionably better to trim bar size rather than try for a lower-calorie recipe... Right? At least it's the same classic Snickers we all know and love. Just a little more compact.

What do you think: laudable reaction to escalating obesity, or nefarious chocolate-industry marketing ploy? Let us know in the comments.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Esquire participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.